Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Hamel's lifetime approval rate of 47% is currently 4 points below the NHC Falls Church office average and 11 points below the national average. These figures are derived from a docket of 10,389 lifetime decisions. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Hamel's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over his 6 years on the bench, Judge Hamel has maintained a consistent decision-making pattern. His annual approval rates have fluctuated, reaching a high of 51% in 2018 and a low of 43% in 2021. This trend reflects a stable approach to case evaluation. You can find more information on the NHC Falls Church hearing office page.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hamel's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Hamel? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Nhc Falls Church hearing office
The NHC Falls Church hearing office serves a large population in Virginia and the surrounding region. It is staffed by 6 administrative law judges who manage a high volume of cases annually. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 51%, reflecting the local standard for disability adjudication. You can visit the NHC Falls Church hearing office page for more details.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the NHC Falls Church office, lifetime approval rates across the bench vary, ranging from 47% to 69%. While these differences exist, the core requirements for proving your disability remain consistent. You can view the full roster on the hearing office page.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.